


only time, only time

by mariichii



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Chatting & Messaging, F/F, Fluff, Mentioned Yazawa Nico, Minor Hoshizora Rin/Koizumi Hanayo, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-01-31 09:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18588472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariichii/pseuds/mariichii
Summary: In which 3rd year high schooler Maki Nishikino texts and calls the girl she’s crushed on since 1st year. The problem is: Nozomi Tojo flirts with everyone. And Maki can’t express her emotions.





	1. A Reintroduction and a Song

**Author's Note:**

> Waaaah, it's been so long! Hi! I swear I have lots more stories to share. I just wanted to post this one. I think it will end in a real way, so watch out for that! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first entry of a new series. :)
> 
> (Title based on The Saltwater Room by Owl City!)

(Unknown number): Hey  
(Unknown number): Is this Maki Nishikino? The girl from µ’s?  
Maki: Yeah  
Maki: But you know µ’s disbanded years ago  
(Unknown number): I wish it didn’t  
(Unknown number): Those girls were such fun  
(Unknown number): Especially you, Makicchi  
Maki: Wait  
Maki: Nozomi?  
(Unknown number): Yup~  
(Contact changed)  
Maki: How are you doing these days? I haven’t heard from you in… well, 2 years, right?  
Nozomi: I have a job  
Nozomi: And an apartment  
Nozomi: But that’s boring, right?  
Nozomi: How are you and Rin and Hanayo doing?  
Maki: School as always. I can give you their phone numbers, if you want.  
Nozomi: Hmm~ Okay.  
Nozomi: Hey, Makicchi, we should video call each other. I don’t even know how you look anymore~

Maki sighed, typing in an “Alright, I guess.” She’d been trying her hardest not to show how happy she was to even talk to Nozomi again. Not having the older girl around was hard. The last time she’d seen her was… Honoka, Kotori, and Umi’s graduation meetup, right?  
Maki reluctantly pressed the call button. In only a few seconds Nozomi’s face popped up on the screen. Her trademark pigtails had been cut to shoulder length, but were both still pulled up in big scrunchies.  
“Wow, you got a haircut. You look... so much different.”  
The purple-haired girl on the screen laughed. “Makicchi, I never thought you’d look so cute with a hime cut!” Maki pulled a little at the side bangs of her slightly longer hair, trying to hide her slight blush. Nozomi flopped backward onto her bed, her phone shaking. She smiled her melancholic yet genuine smile.  
“You know, Makicchi? I missed you a lot.”  
Maki stared at her ceiling, away from Nozomi’s sea green eyes. “Yeah. Me too.”

The two girls kept texting. Maki learned that Eli and Nozomi live together, and that Nozomi has a pet bird that she hides in her apartment. Maki would take pictures of Hanayo and Rin to send to Nozomi, and Nozomi would send back random pictures of Eli and things happening in their lives. At one point the topic finally came up.  
“Hey, Makicchi? Do you ever wish we could have kept being idols forever?” Nozomi’s voice sounded a bit less playful, a little more melancholic. Maki sighed.  
“Yeah… Yeah, I do.”  
"I mean, Nico did it, right? I see her on TV sometimes, in the backgrounds of big dance sequences or talking about what it was like to be a school idol. Why couldn't we have joined her? But I respect Honoka's decision, too. We served our purpose, by singing together and dancing, bringing smiles to the faces of so many."  
The two sat in silence, just thinking about what it was like back in µ's. They were just high schoolers, having fun and saving old Otonokizaka... Nozomi took a deep breath.  
"I'm a bit rusty, of course, but… I say… hey, hey, hey, start;dash!”  
The older girl laughed a little, but Maki joined in. They sang until they both forgot the right words. Nozomi giggled.  
“Hey, Makicchi, did I ever tell you how nice your voice is?” Maki stuttered a little. She took a deep breath to calm down before replying.  
“Yours is really pretty too, Nozomi…” Maki heard the older girl laugh, her bird tweeting quietly in the background as a reply. She shifted on the couch.  
“I appreciate it, Makicchi, but you don’t have to lie to me. My voice was one of the most bland in µ’s-“  
“No, it wasn’t! As the composer, I can say that writing some of your solo parts was hard, but it’s not because your voice was bland - no, not at all. It’s because your voice is so lovely that I wanted to do it justice.”  
Nozomi said nothing as Maki realized that she’d blurted that all out. The redhead’s hands flailed frantically, trying to come up with something to say about herself.  
“Uh-uhm, I meant…!”  
Nozomi cut her off, as gracefully as she could, with a brief laugh. “You’re so cute, Makicchi. Ah, Eli just got home… I’ll talk to you later, okay?”  
The older girl hung up the phone. Maki took a deep breath, falling back onto the chair she was sitting in. She looked up at her phone, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh. She looked up again when her phone made a pinging noise. “Rin, just text Hanayo and not me, I swear-“

Nozomi: Hey Makicchi?  
Nozomi: Eli wanted me to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner  
Nozomi: She said that she made too much but I think that’s a lie~

Maki felt like she was going to implode. She’d been video calling Nozomi, of course, but… face to face. 

Maki: Yeah. That’d be nice.

As Maki ran out the door, she told her mother she was leaving, not waiting for a response. She quickly realized she didn’t know where Nozomi and Eli’s apartment was, just as she received a location pin from the older girl’s contact. The caption simply said, “I figured you’d need that. -Eli” Maki smiled, before running off in the right direction.


	2. A Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nozomi, Maki, and Eli eat a meal and talk about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry this chapter took so long. I was stumped on writing real-life interactions... I didn't expect to write so many in this series! I hope you like Maki being awkward IRL XD

Maki stood at the door to Nozomi and Eli’s apartment as she knocked quietly. Eli ran across to the door, swinging it open and almost hitting the younger girl.  
“Ah, Maki-chan, I‘m so sorry… You didn’t get hit, did you? The rain really soaked you to the bone, didn’t it…”   
Eli moved to the side of the door, letting Maki in. Nozomi threw Maki a towel that promptly smacked her in the face. “Ah, sorry, Makicchi! I didn’t mean to smack you in the face as soon as you got here.”  
Eli looked at her housemate. "Were you going to smack her in the face later?"  
Maki smiled. “Hey, Nozomi, Eli.”   
Despite avoiding saying so, this was really the atmosphere she missed from being around the 3rd years of µ’s. They always had this imperfect yet happy feeling that Maki had never experienced before she joined the group. It was comfortable and warm. Quietly, she sat down at the table as Nozomi carried out a bowl of homemade beef stroganoff.  
“Uhm, it’s one of Nozomi’s favorites, so I figured I’d make it today… I hope you don’t mind, Maki-chan.”   
“I’m sure it’s delicious, Eli. Thanks.” Maki smiled. Nozomi sat down with a sigh. She tugged at her hair, putting it into 2 green scrunchies. “Okay, let’s eat!”  
Over their meal, the girls talked about their life. A lot was missed in 2 years. Maki told them that Rin and Hanayo had started dating in 2nd year, and Eli informed Maki that Nico was still chasing her dream of being an idol. Maki smiled fondly. “She was never one to give up, was she?”  
Eli smiled. “Nope. Not at all.”  
Nozomi piped up, scooping more stroganoff into her bowl. “So, so, Makicchi, what are you going to do after you graduate?”  
Maki sighed, thinking of the right words. “Well, what I really want… I want to pursue a music career of some sort. My parents’ll probably make me take over the hospital, though…”  
“Makicchi, I have an idea. What if you move in with us?”   
Both Maki and Eli were slightly taken aback, but Eli reacted first. “Nozomi, shouldn't we talk about this?! We share this apartment, if you didn’t know!”  
Maki simply laughed. “Do you really think that’d work…?”  
As Nozomi stopped laughing at her roommate’s reaction, she nodded at Maki. “Maybe we can just steal you, you know? Just do whatever to help you pursue your dreams!”  
While the idea seemed appealing, Maki was sure it wouldn’t work. Her parents had contacts all over Tokyo, if not all over Japan. She sighed, deciding to flip the subject around.   
“What are you guys doing now?”  
Eli responded quickly. “Ah, well, I decided to go to business school. Nozomi and I, we think it'd be nice to move somewhere and start a cafe or something..."  
"Come with us, Makicchi! Wouldn't that be fun? We could go to some little town with a beach or something..."   
The red-haired girl scratched her head and sighed quietly. "Well, it would be nice..."  
Nozomi jumped next to Maki, squeezing her in a tight hug. "Yay! A life together with Maki-"  
"Hey, hey! That hurts! Plus I have to get school finished first, too..."  
"Yeah, of course... Wait, you didn't say 'maybe' to coming with us! Are you gonna come with us, Makicchi?"  
Eli looked at the purple-haired girl again. "We need to talk about this, too, Nozomi! Maki's not the only one you need to convince."  
"Yeah, sure, Elicchi... You know you want her to come too!"  
"Hey, don't put words in my mouth!"

Eventually, Maki and Eli settled into a soft silence on the couch. The television was playing quietly as Nozomi loaded the dishes into the washer. Maki rested her chin in her hand, listening to the news talk about a little coastal town. Both heard soft footsteps as Nozomi walked into the room and flopped into the couch, laying in both their laps. Maki's face turned bright red, and Eli raised her arms off the armrest. Both said the same thing:  
"Wh- Nozomi!"   
Both Eli and Maki turned to each other and stared. "That was perfectly in unison! You two are both so cute."  
Nozomi giggled, resting her head in Maki's lap gently. "What's this little town on the TV? It looks nice."  
Eli responded, "I think he said it was called Numazu? It's a cute little place. It's in Shizuoka."  
Maki gently slapped her face, attempting to look less embarrassed about the purple-haired girl who had materialized in her lap, and looked up at the town shown on the TV. Nozomi watched her, looking amused. "W-wait, why are you watching me so intently?!"  
"You're just so cute, Makicchi! I can't help it!"  
The girl's face went even brighter red. "Wh- No I- I'm not!!"  
Nozomi and Eli both laughed. "Makicchi, now you look like a tomato!"  
The older girl reached out and poked her nose softly. "Cute tomato Makicchi~"  
Maki broke. Eli attempted to be stern, but ended up laughing with the other older girl. "Nozomi, now you're going too far!"

"We should definitely do this again sometime! I had lots of fun."  
Nozomi leaned in the doorway as Eli held the door for their guest. "Hmm... Maybe at your house next time, Maki-chan? I remember it being quite nice."  
Maki thought about Eli's question. "Uhm... I could ask my mom? She might let you guys come over. She does at least know of you, so she might be willing. She'd probably make the cook make some amazing 6-course meal or something..."  
Nozomi smiled. "I would say I always forget how rich you are, but I don't. Doesn't she seem all rich and famous, Elicchi?"  
"H-Hey! Wait... do I really?"

As soon as Maki got home, she checked her phone. First, it was about 20 messages from her mother asking if she was okay and would be home soon, but then there was 1 from an unknown number.

(Unknown number): (Image)  
(Unknown number): I may have sneak-taken this today. You two are so cute. :)

Maki clicked on the image impulsively. A picture of her and Nozomi popped up. Her face was bright red and Nozomi was smiling, poking her in the nose. Maki quietly saved it and added Eli's number to her contacts. She had one more message, though.

Nozomi: Did you like the food? Remember to ask your mom if we can come over. Next week, right? You're just so cute, Makicchi. <3

The redhead fell backward onto her bed, kicking her legs in embarrassment. She came to a realization that Nozomi probably all thought that this was meaningless joking... she DID touch Nico's chest for fun back in the day. The problem was, this was probably all just a misunderstanding. Nozomi wouldn't like someone like Maki, despite how much Maki liked her... Her and Eli were happily dating, and they probably wouldn't want Maki bursting into their relationship, no matter how much the girl wanted to.

"Aaaah... I'm gonna have to tell her soon, huh? And Eli too..."

Maki's mom appeared in the doorway, looking in at her daughter. "Who do you need to tell what? What you need to do is go to bed, you have school tomorrow..."

"Wh- Mom?!"


End file.
